Campbell discloses health concerns

July 18, 2013

Updated March 18, 2015 11:31 p.m.

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Congressman John Campbell, R-Irivine, questions Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke during the Joint Economic Committee Hearing on the economy, in this May file photo. JAMES BERGLIE, ZUMAPRESS.COM

Congressman John Campbell, R-Irivine, questions Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke during the Joint Economic Committee Hearing on the economy, in this May file photo. JAMES BERGLIE, ZUMAPRESS.COM

ABOUT REP. JOHN CAMPBELL

1976 – Bachelor's degree in economics from UCLA

1977 – Master's in business taxation from USC

1977 – Tax accountant, Ernst & Young

1978 - First job at a car dealership as controller

1985 - CEO of Campbell Automotive Group

2000 - Elected to State Assembly

2004 - Elected to State Senate

2005 - Elected to Congress in a special election

2010 – Investigated by House Ethics Committee

2011 – Ethics Committee decided no ethics violations existed

2011 – Helped get a Congressional earmark ban passed

2013 – June, announced retiring at close of 113th Congress

WASHINGTON – Rep. John Campbell, R-Irvine, is battling several non-life threatening but taxing health issues that have caused him to miss votes and committee meetings in recent weeks and that he cited in an interview as a factor in his June decision to retire, but not "the dispositive one."

In May, the health issues started to draw Campbell away from Washington, where he missed votes on the House floor about 50 percent of the time, according to a Register analysis.

"I'm missing a ton of votes here," he conceded in a Thursday interview at his Capitol Hill office and the first in which he detailed how health played a role in his decision to leave public life at the end of his term. "And I will miss more in July. I'm trying to catch up [with doctors], get this under control, so I can be at full strength in September." He will be absent next week and plans to return to Washington the following week. Congress is in recess from Aug. 5 to Sept. 9.

Not surprisingly for those who know Campbell, a former chief executive of Saturn of Orange County, he described his troubles in the context of cars. And to look at Campbell, who turns 58 Friday, he looks pretty much the same as when he took office in 2005, except for a beard.

"I'm a car guy, and so, it's kinda like this: 'Yeah the paint looks great, and the interior looks great, but the suspension system sucks. And it's got problems, and the exhaust system has a lot of problems. So the car may look great when you look at it, but there's some problems underneath the shell that aren't so good. So they just need attention. They're not going to keep the car from running, but they need attention." And: "I let some things go that I should not have let go," he said.

The list of ailments is as long as it is painful. He has been battling a form of severe arthritis in his right hip, a torn meniscus in his right knee and a right shoulder impingement. Doctors have recommended three surgeries, said Campbell, "none of which I want."

He has had two back-to-back bouts of stomach flu, which caused him particular concern because he has had ongoing gastrointestinal sensitivities since 2009, when he had 18 inches of colon removed. On top of it all, he has had a variety of dental work that needed attention – all of which is completed.

The confluence of health concerns came to a head when he visited a doctor on May 31. "I didn't know what I had; but, I needed to do something," he said. Campbell spent more time in Orange County, where his doctors and family are, and decided to try physical therapy to ease the joint pain before going the surgical route. He does 2.5 hours of physical therapy daily, which he expects to finish by month-end, plus steroid injections.

At the same time, he was weighing his future in Washington. He and his wife, Catherine, considered moving east to ease the travel pressures, but they decided they did not want to move the family. And, had Mitt Romney been elected president, that might have made a difference. When all the pros and cons were considered, the balance tilted toward retiring.

"It's not my first transition," said Campbell, who started as a CPA. "I have plenty of options and will take my time to decide."

In the meantime, Campbell said that for his final 18 months in office he would like to focus on easing regulatory burdens for small car manufacturers, replacing Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae with a more efficient source of housing finance, deal with "too big to fail" banking legislation, and scrutinize Wildlife Services, which he says has brutal history of dealing with animals. "I'm an animal lover," said Campbell, who owns a ranch in Kansas.

He was barely a quarter of the way through his current term before announcing his retirement last month, which he believes will give ample time "for the (political) field to develop" for his Irvine seat.

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